HEREFORDSHIRE will take in up to 60 Syrian refugees from this September.

The Minister for Syrian Refugees, Richard Harrington, has approved Herefordshire Council's offer which will see about 18 families resettle here from the war-torn Middle-Eastern country.

The council's Cabinet will now meet next Monday (9th) to agree the commissioning of a procurement process to set-up a support service for the refugees once they arrive here.

The two-year service would be provided at a value "not exceeding £540,000".

This funding will be provided by the Home Office.

In background papers released ahead of the Hereford Shirehall meeting, the council says the refugees coming to Herefordshire will be brought directly from camps and informal settlements around the Syrian borders. To be considered they must meet at least one of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)’s seven vulnerability criteria.

"This means that people will generally be children and women at risk, survivors of torture or violence, disabled people or those with significant health needs," the council says.

"They will all come in family groups and children will be around half of the cohort. Approximately 20 per cent or 12 refugees are likely to have complex needs in relation to health, social care or education.

"As far as possible, the Home Office will match people from rural parts of Syria to areas like Herefordshire. This may mean that a smaller proportion of refugees can speak English as this appears to be less common in rural areas."

The needs of refugee families are expected to be varied with the authority promising to work with voluntary, community and faith organisations to finalise the sort of support services required.

The service will help the refugees find basic household equipment, access benefits, attend language classes for adults, and help registering with a GP and dentist, among other services.

The government has established a Syrian vulnerable persons’ resettlement programme to take 20,000 people from Syria and its borders over a five year period to enable them to settle in the UK.